North State Voices: Rankings show we need some peace

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be counted as one of the top 10 peaceful nations of the world? Better yet, what about one of the top 10 peaceful cities in California?

I'd love to put Chico on that map.

The abundance of debates and discussions regarding gun control laws at the state and federal levels, in an attempt to curb violence, has my head spinning, but it also has me thinking about what it is we want and how we get there.

Instinctively, people want to be safe in their day-to-day lives. We want to go about our business and not have to look over our shoulders as we drop our kids off at school, take walks in the park, shop for groceries, and put up our feet in the sanctity of our homes.

So what are the criteria that define a peaceful city and state?

According to the 2012 State Peace Index, rating states is based on five factors: the homicide rate, violent crime rate, incarceration rate, police presence and availability of small arms. The New England region ranks first. Maine is No. 1, while Louisiana ranks 50th. California comes in 32nd.

We could do better.

As far as cities go, the index ranks metro areas, so Chico doesn't show up, but the Sacramento area comes in 35th. The Cambridge-Newton, Mass., metro area ranks first, followed by Edison-New Brunswick, N.J.; and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.

Levels of peace are higher and violence lower in places with higher rates of both college and high school graduates, as is the case in the top three metro areas. No surprise that poverty and inequality have a close association with higher levels of violence and lower levels of peace.

So what are Chico citizens doing to create a more nonviolent community? I called the Chico Peace and Justice Center to ask for starters.

Their new director, Chris Moore-Backman, has two new projects to add to their ongoing list. One, called "Bringing Down The New Jim Crow — Move to End Mass Incarceration," addresses the issue of our high incarceration rate. Based on Michelle Alexander's book, "The New Jim Crow," Moore-Backman has co-written a workbook to educate citizens about Alexander's claims that our justice system continues targeting minorities through the war on drugs. Alexander said, "We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it."

Movements and projects, like many at the Peace and Justice Center, involve planning, organizing, creative thinking and action. Nonviolence is not passive. The tricky part of the word nonviolence is that it's viewed as a reaction to violence, as if it's unreal or, in my mind, not worthy of its own name.

Gandhi's word for nonviolence was satyagraba, from satya meaning truth, holding on to truth.

Fortunately, his teachings made and continue to make an impact on the world, even though his word didn't resonate with most.

However, Moore-Backman enlightened me to "integral nonviolence," which he says is "an approach to nonviolent living and social change." From the personal level, to the community level and ultimately the political levels, this proactive approach encompasses aligning the principles of nonviolence in your personal life, while working to make a positive impact in your community and ultimately the world.

As a second project, Moore-Backman will also be leading Saturday Gandhi workshops. Gandhi's approach teaches us, among other things, how to respond peacefully to those things that trigger anger. Moore-Backman reminded me of the three pillars of the center:

Educate, motivate and mobilize.

My personal challenge — please feel free to join me — is to take a step toward leading a more nonviolent life. Signing up for a Gandhi training is closer to home for me than taking on the U.S. justice system, but one change, one person at a time, will make a difference.

Julie Anderson-Nilsson is a Chico resident and columnist for North State Voices, a rotating panel of columnists that appears each Thursday. She can be reached at jules48.nilsson@gmail.com.